Friday, September 25, 2009

Delicious, crispy, melty lentil burger recipe

This is my own recipe. I made it up and tweaked it a few times until I was happy and have had a couple requests for it and I wanted to share it because it is really yum.

The pics are not great, because I took them in the dark and my counter was all messy so I couldn't pose them properly. Plus I was fighting Rene back at the time, who was salivating and chanting, "get in my belly" and had his arms stretched out like a zombie looking for brains, so I was kicking him back with one foot, balancing with the other while pleading, "just one photo, just let me get one photo first", and snapping up as quickly as I could.

Ok first a tip: I find there is often a variance with cooked lentils, depending on brand, volume of water used and length of cooking time. Adjust the measurements of dry/wet ingredients depending on how wet your lentils are. You want the patties to hold together well and hold their shape but not be too dry. If it's too sloppy, add more flour/breadcrumbs and if it's too dry, try adding in more chopped tomato/Worcestershire sauce.

Also, Worcestershire sauce is not vegetarian. It has anchovies in it. But you can buy veggie/vegan alternatives, like this one.

Cook the lentil according to package instructions. You want them soft and malleable, but not pureed.

Allow them to cool. Add seasonings and flour. Process the bread or grate with a cheese grater to make bread crumbs. Add to lentils.

Add all remaining ingredients other than swiss cheese and oil/butter

Mix together. Add more wet or dry ingredients if needed.

Melt 2 tbs of oil or butter (my preference is butter) in a large skillet. in moderate heat.

Take a lump of lentil mix and form a thin, wide patty. Place a slice of swiss cheese on top and fold in overhanging edges (leave a small amount overhanging for delicious crispy bits). Make an identical thin patty and place it on top, squashing it together slightly to make one big patty with cheese in the middle. Put patty in the frying pan and make some more to go beside it. Fry until golden brown and crispy on the outside with melty cheese in the middle. Yum!

Serve on a bun with mayo, ketchup and fresh salad. Rene said the leftovers were good with BBQ sauce on top.

Oh, it makes about 5-6 patties. You can double the recipe and freeze some.